Supernatural: The High School Version
by reidnparker
Summary: The nerds. The jocks. The cheerleaders. Welcome to RiverSide High, I hope you enjoy your stay!
1. Chapter 1 - First Introductions

**_Supernatural: the high school version._**

 ** _This story will tell the tale of Matilda-Rose Breckenridge's and her peers, as she discovers what it's really like to go to school in America._**

 _Tick. Tick. Tick._

The dull, but incessant noise echoes throughout the currently empty headmaster's office. As first days go, this one seemed to be starting off as pretty standard – the waiting around to be ferried from place to place, as you have absolutely no clue where you're supposed to be going.

When Matilda first arrived in America, she imagined high school life to be like the movies – but, sadly she is yet to see anything that remotely resembles the wild cats life. I mean, you even have to wear a uniform here. Which is weird, because in all the movies you see the kids wearing casual jeans and hoodies, or the girls wearing the latest designer clothing that makes everyone else jealous.

But, apparently the new acting headmaster wanted a change for his students. A change for the better. Although, pretty much every single student she had passed on her way to the office their top buttons undone, and their ties halfway down their chests. It seemed that they were all complaining, too. "I don't see why we gotta wear this crap, I don't need to wear a tie until I'm at least thirty!" And, "this skirt makes me look like a slutty nun."

 _Like, how is that even possible?_

The girl is temporarily snapped out of her thoughts and memories, as the office doors clicks open. A man in a smart suit walks in, and when he speaks I'm more than surprised. "Hello, Matilda, is it? Welcome to RiverSide High. I'm Headmaster Crowley." He's British. British. A.k.a everyone hates the new British headmaster for bringing in a fancy uniform, and now Matilda is going to be the new student from England who everyone will despise also.

"M – Matty, please." She finds herself stuttering, whilst flattening out my green and black skirt for what seems like the fiftieth time today – it's already becoming a nervous habit.

"Of course. Well, your student chauffeur is awaiting you outside the door – she'll show you around for the day, and get you used to your surroundings. She also has your books, and your timetable." The man smiles – his accent is a lot posher than her own, making it sound as if he's from upper class London, maybe.

"Thank you, Sir." That's what Matilda called her teachers back home, so she simply stick with my instincts. She stands up, and heads out of the door, to be greeted by a girl with mid-length blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. She's busy tugging at her skirt, and playing with her collar.

Wow, these guys really don't like school uniforms.

"Hey! I'm Rebekah Atkins – the Bekah with a 'k.' Basically, I'm gonna show you around without sugar coating the RiverSide life. Okay, so we have math first – follow me." The girl smiles to reveal a set of perfect, white teeth. Matilda silently hopes that she isn't going to be one of those stereotypical perfect, bitchy girls. She seems nice enough though.

As she chatters away, Matilda hurries after her. She starts to hand her a large set of books, which are then clumsily shoved into Matilda's leather satchel. Brushing a curl of dark, brunette hair out of her eyes – which are also brown – _yes... She's just so blessed._ – she closes her bag again, and looking back up she realises that Rebekah has stopped outside a nearby classroom.

Thankfully, she manages to refrain from bumping into her, just as Rebekah opens the classroom door, and steps inside. It seems that their teacher hasn't arrived yet, so as they walk to the back of the classroom, Rebekah starts to introduce the stereotypes – is this going to be like St. Trinians meets America?

"Okay, so.. Over there, the red head is Charlie Bradbury, she's almost top of the class, and a _total_ comics nerd. Next to her is Kevin Tran, he's like a major nerd in all things languages, so if you're ever going abroad just, like, befriend him..." She pauses for a few moments, to wave to a girl who's just walked through the door.

"Coming in behind my friend there, that's Sam Winchester – he's also a nerd in basically everything, but he's cute so it's cool." I raise my eyebrows at her remark, wondering why someone like her would go for a 'nerd' type. "Uhh, his brother is Dean Winchester, who is his brother's total opposite, being a jock and all. He's currently been assigned the same job as me for a new, foreign exchange student – which is hilarious." As she continues to ramble on, Matilda kind of switches off, and resorts to staring at the wall ahead of her.

She looks around at my new classmates – Charlie is helping Sam to tie his tie properly, which causes Matty to chuckle quietly to herself. Finally, the teacher arrives, and then Matilda starts to mentally prepare herself for that awkward moment where the new kid has to stand up front, and introduce themselves. "Okay, class! This is our new student – Matilda Breckenridge."

She stays silent, not wanting to speak. "Anything you want to tell us?" Her new teacher prompts her, accompanied by a slightly patronising smile.

"Not really, no. Uh, I'd prefer to be called Matty though." As soon as she opens her mouth and speaks, everyone starts to mumble – _it's like; oh hark, a British girl!_

"Are you related to our new headmaster, 'cause he's ruined our lives!" A male voice calls out, and she has to refrain from rolling my eyes.

"That's enough, Gabriel." The teacher speaks sternly, as Matty vigorously shakes her head in response, causing her brunette waves to bounce in a rhythmic fashion.

She then takes this as her opportunity to go back to her chair, walking past Sam's desk – he's currently sat back to front in his chair, so that he can talk to Kevin and Charlie. As she takes her seat again, next to Rebekah, the girl is already gossiping with somebody beside her.

 _This is going to be so much fun..._


	2. Chapter 2 - Dean vs Crowley

By the time lunchtime has rolled around, Matty has actually managed to ditch Rebekah. Sitting in the corner of the canteen alone isn't the most fun way to enjoy your slightly prison food looking plate, but it's her current situation.

Well, until a familiar looking redhead slides her lunch tray along the table next to her, followed by a boy. "Hey, I'm Charlie! Congrats on ditching Rebekah," the girl extends a hand for her to shake. "I'm Kevin," the boy gives a small wave, and Matty smiles.

"I guess you already know my name, since it's been announced every single class." She laughs slightly, and Charlie nods.

Before anymore awkward small talk can be exchanged, Sam slides his own lunch tray into the small space between Charlie and Kevin. His tie is halfway down his chest, top button undone, and hair looking rather disheveled.

"I had p.e." He must have noticed the look of confusion on Matty's face – not that she was staring, or anything. She nods once, laughing a little as he hungrily bites into an apple.

When Sam gets up to throw his apple core into the bin, a lost looking student wanders by their table. He's wearing a worn out looking trench coat over his school uniform – a rather strange choice of attire, in Matty's opinion, anyway.

"Have any of you guys seen Dean?" He looks exasperated, as he asks the question.

"Try the janitors cupboards, behind the bleachers, or the detention room... If he's not in any of those, I'm not sure... Sorry, Cas." Charlie looks sympathetic towards him, as he walks away mumbling something to himself.

"What's that, like, the fifth time Dean has ditched him this week?" Kevin counts on his fingers.

"What's the deal with Dean, anyway? Rebekah seemed to be pretty fascinated." Matty talks again for the first time in about fifteen minutes. Charlie chuckles at her question, and turns to face her.

"She has this weird obsession with the Winchesters – I heard her calling Sam cute earlier, 'cause she can't get Dean, sooo... But, yeah. Dean's my friend, and he's alright once you get to know him – under all the bad attitude, he's really just a sweet little bear. Don't tell him I said that though, or he'll punch Kevin." Charlie rambles on for a while, and then Kevin almost chokes on his mouthful of food at her last statement.

"Hey, why me?!" He asks, after taking a lifesaving sip of his drink.

"Because Dean would never hit a girl, and I'd blame it on you." She shrugs casually, and then Sam comes to sit back down again.

He punches a hole in his orange juice carton, and starts to drink it. "What did Cas want?" He questions, whilst absentmindedly chewing on the straw.

"Dean ditched him, again." Kevin replies, to which Sam frowns at his reaction.

"He has detention, I think. For being late to basically every class this week." Sam covers for his brother a lot – but, he will go against Dean if he's really in the wrong.

Matty wonders if what Charlie said about him is true, as she finishes off all she can manage of her lunch. She politely shakes her head, as Kevin offers her a cherry lollypop, and then gets up out of her seat to walk towards the bin.

 ** _friday morning._**

As Matty takes a seat at a table in home room, she sighs loudly. Taking out her unfinished chemistry homework, it seems her worry is evident to those around her too – because someone sits beside her, and asks "what's up?"

She turns to see Charlie, who's tied her hair in two messy braids today. "Rebekah was supposed to help me finish this for today, but she left school early yesterday and now I literally can't find her anywhere!" Matty barely pauses for breath, as Charlie stares at her intently.

"She has there's-a-new-clothes-shop-opening-at-the-mall-today-where-everything-has-a-discount-itus." Charlie laughs, twirling one of her braids around her right index finger.

"Yeah, and it's real contagious." Sam scoots in beside Charlie, as he rolls his eyes. "Her best friend is my chem' partner," he explains, sliding Matty's homework across the table and over to him.

He pulls a pen out of his blazer pocket, and clicks it down with his chin. Beginning to scrawl over it, and mumble various things, Matty decides to just let him get on with it. "Free candy!" Kevin's voice enters the homeroom, as he climbs onto the empty spot on their table.

Sam holds his hand out for a lollypop, not looking up from the paper in front of him. Kevin then offers one to Matty, who this time takes one. Charlie shoves her hand into the packet before he gets to her, causing him to give her a scolding look. "Riley, heads up!" Kevin calls to a girl sitting on a nearby sofa, and she holds her hand above her head to catch the candy on the first try.

"Thanks!" She calls out to him, but doesn't turn around.

Before Kevin can share out anymore of his 'free candy', the bell rings for first period. "I'll help you out more in chem'." Sam flashes a smile, passing Matty back her book.

"Thanks," Matty is grateful for actually meeting some nice students, for once.

As the four students walk out of the homeroom, they see two people bump into each other in the hallway. "Watch where you're going, _Winchester._ " The female voice snaps, and then Dean turns around to face her.

"Likewise, _Masters_ – oh, hey Sammy!" Dean spots his brother, and like usual, he calls him by the embarrassing nickname.

Matty has actually already encountered the elder Winchester – on Wednesday afternoon, to be precise. And, it went a little like this...

 ** _Wednesday afternoon._**

Matty looks at the little locker key in her hand – locker 123. She glances at the line of dull, red lockers. Most of them have the paint scraped off. 121, 122... Ah, 123 seems to be blocked – by some students eager to display their romantic affections.

" _Uh..._ Excuse me?" Matty clears her voice before attempting to ask the couple to move. The girl has her back facing Matty, and the guy is behind her, with his back pressed against her locker.

She stands there for a few moments, beginning to feel rather awkward as the couple start to get even more touchy feely. "Can I – can I get to my locker, please?" She's pretty sure that they're simply ignoring her, but she really needs something in there for her next period, so she's going to have to physically split them up in a minute.

But, before she plucks up the courage to go and tap the girl on the shoulder, someone walks up behind her, and loudly clears his own throat. " _Dean_ , move your ass!" The couple finally come to a stand still, and they slowly break apart.

The girl giggles, and then steps aside, whilst Dean stays leaning against the locker. "Dean, I gotta get to class." She whines, stroking a finger across his cheek. "Alright, baby. See you later... You know where," he grins, before placing another kiss upon her lips.

She then hurries off down the corridor, leaving Sam staring at him with evident disgust. "Ever heard of a room?" He rolls his eyes, and then physically pushes his brother aside, and gestures for Matty to step towards her locker.

She can feel her cheeks heating up from embarrassment, as she quietly gives Sam a 'thanks.' Dean looks her subtly up and down, and then looks to Sam with a look on his face. "Is this the new girl you were telling me about?" Dean bites his bottom lip, and stuffs his hands in his jacket – his non-uniform jacket.

"I just told him there was a new student, I don't talk about you – but, uh.. Dean, this is Matty, Matty, this is Dean." Sam quickly introduces the pair, and then Matty shuts her locker.

"Hi," she mumbles, laughing slightly at what Sam had just said.

"Sorry about blocking your locker, and Sammy – don't worry about it, your secret is safe with me!" He chuckles, before ruffling Sam's hair. Although, he has to slightly reach up on his tiptoes to do so, which is rather amusing to watch.

Once Dean has disappeared around the corner, Sam makes it his mission to reassure Matty that Dean is only messing with him, and that he really doesn't 'gossip' about her. "Sure, Rebekah." She jokes, before double checking her timetable, and then heading off to class, with Sam following shortly behind.

 ** _Friday lunchtime._**

"Who is she?" Matty asks Charlie, as she spots the girl who bumped into Dean earlier – and actually stuck up for herself.

"That's Meg, she's in grade twelve." Charlie responds, before finishing off her cookie.

There's only a few minutes of lunchtime left, and then there's a whole school assembly, that's being hosted by the new headmaster. When the bell rings, there's a unison of groans, whilst each and every student slowly make their way to the school gym.

There is even teachers placed at the door, in order to correct uniform. You can see girls pulling down their skirts, and boys quickly doing up their top buttons. Other students are quickly getting rid of their chewing gum, and some are pulling off their bracelets and rings – stuffing them inside their blazer pockets.

"Megan Masters, top button and tie!" A stern, female voice can be heard. A.k.a the voice of detention mistress – Miss Mills. Meg dramatically rolls her eyes, whilst taking her time in correcting her uniform.

Whilst other students were waiting in line to get into the gym, other teachers were catching them out about their uniform. By the time everyone had piled inside, and took their seats – it was supposed to be in grade order, bit that didn't really go to plan – twenty minutes have passed.

Once the new headmasters steps out onto the small stage that gets placed upfront for important assemblies, everyone quietens down. "Hello, all. I doubt you don't know this already, but I'm Mr. Crowley. A.k.a your new headmaster," he begins, looking at all of the faces in his audience. "I'm here to make this school a better place, and I'm doing that with new uniforms, new cafeteria staff – as of next week – and, more discipline. The legal kind, of course." He earns a few chuckles from the surrounding staff, but the students don't look equally as amused.

"So, basically you're just a posh, Brit, who wants to make our lives living hell?" A voice calls out from the crowd – causing a few mutters around him.

"Ah, Dean Winchester, is it? Your reputation proceeds you." Crowley smiles, and you can just about hear Dean scoff in response.

"Like you don't have a student list up there, with all of our photos on." Dean retaliates just as quick, and Mr. Crowley starts to laugh.

"Of course I do, but, it doesn't tell me about your egoistic attitude, does it? That, I've heard for myself." The room is now filled with a chorus of "oooh's", and a few students actually laugh this time.

But Dean certainly isn't laughing.

"Crowley sure has it in for you," Charlie comments, as she walks behind Dean on the sidewalk. Kevin is hurrying to keep up, whilst Sam walks alongside Charlie.

"He's all talk, stupid, British, pompous –" Sam promptly clears his throat, kicking Dean in the back of his ankle. The elder brother turns around, to see Sam gesturing to someone who is walking on the other side of the street.

Matty, thankfully appears to have her Walkman turned on – but, after the assembly she had p.e., and the students in her class weren't exactly the nicest bunch. So, half an hour of netball and being picked last hasn't exactly made her the happiest of bunnies.

Dean gets the message, and then shuts up about how British people suck. As Charlie and Kevin say their goodbyes for the weekend, they go their separate ways to Sam and Dean – who live the furthest out of town, but usually prefer to walk as opposed to catching the school bus.

"Charlie wants to invite Matty to the basketball tournament on Sunday, you're going, right?" Sam questions his brother, as he begins to walk beside him now, on the sidewalk.

Dean chuckles with slight cockiness, before he replies. "Hell _yeah_ , I'm goin'! Ashley's cheerleading." Dean explains, accompanied by a smirk.

"So is Jo," Sam sarcastically smiles back, causing Dean to hit him upside the head.

"Yeah, well, I'm over her now. And, sure go ahead invite the British kid – she needs a friend. I have to take Cas too, so they can hang out and be confused together." Dean mumbles grumpily, and Sam frowns.

"Dean, they _can_ speak English, you know." He rolls his eyes, and Dean mumbles something for only him to hear.

For the rest of their walk home, they endure it in silence. Sam sends a text to Charlie, telling her to invite Matty to the game. Dean, meanwhile, pulls his headphones onto his head, and presses play on his own Walkman.


	3. Chapter 3 The basketball game

Sunday rolled around pretty quick, and now Dean is laughing at Sam as they walk to school – Sam being in shorts, and sneakers. "It's not funny!" He snaps – he received an email last night, saying that a lot of the team, plus reserves, were sick, so if he could come as a backup plan. His teacher had brought this idea up at the beginning of term, and Sam thought it'd look good on his school report, but he never actually thought that he'd have to play.

"It _is_ pretty funny though," Dean chuckles, as they turn the corner towards the school entrance. He holds the door open for Sam, muttering something immature, along the lines of _'ladies first!'_

The game isn't set to start for another half an hour, so Dean heads off to find his girlfriend – completely forgetting about the fact that he's supposed to wait by the doors, for Cas – and, Sam goes looking for Charlie.

He finds her sitting near the front, left hand side of the gym – along with Matty, and Kevin. Charlie takes a sip of her drink, not noticing that Sam is walking towards her. Glancing at the cheerleaders, she sighs. "What a beautiful day to be gay!" She stares off into the distance for a few moments, before Sam announces his presence by clearing his throat. "Oh, hi there Sam!"

Kevin proceeds to choke on his own mouthful of soda, whilst Sam and Matty just laugh. "I'm surprised Dean isn't up here ogling with you," Sam comments, taking a seat next to the chirpy red head.

"He's somewhere with the missing cheerleader, he did wave hi though." Charlie explains, gesturing to where the cheerleading team captain is looking stressed. Sam nods to show that he understands, just a few seconds before his friends notice his current attire.

" _You're_ reserving today?!" Kevin laughs, causing Sam's facial expression to drop.

"Half the team are sick – it wasn't my freakin' choice!" His hands shove deeper into his hoody pockets, whilst he awkwardly shuffles his bare legs, to try and keep warm.

Charlie looks him up and down, and smirks. "If I was straight, I'd say you rock shorts." She teases, and Sam rolls his eyes.

About halfway into the game, Meg and Cas appear at the end of their seating row. She whistles for Sam to come over, and then smiles to a lost looking Cas. "I can't find Dean, so could you look after Clarence for me?" She asks – her usual smirk written upon her face.

Sam rolls his eyes – he does that a lot – and then nods, gesturing for Cas to come and sit down. "Thanks, Meg." He half-heartedly calls out to her, before leading the way for Cas to come and join them.

He sits beside Sam, and then leans in towards him a little. "Doesn't she know my real name?" He asks, sounding genuinely confused.

"Yeah, she's just – you know what, don't worry about it." Sam pats Cas on the shoulder, and then turns back towards the game as the sound of a whistle blow echoes throughout the gymnasium.

Another player has been injured – making that three less main players. "Not another one!" Sam's arms are thrown up in frustration, and Charlie leans forward to see what all the fuss is about.

"Don't be mean, just 'cause you don't wanna play the game." She warns him, throwing a single piece of popcorn at his head. Sam attempts to throw it back at her, but she moves just at the last minute, and it hits Matty instead.

Giving her an apologetic look, it seems that she has forgiven him.

Sam actually manages to make it until half an hour left of the game, but that's when... "Winchester! We need you!" The dreaded voice of the coach fills the quietened gym, as another player gets sent off from a high fever.

"No, wait... He didn't clarify _which_ Winchester!" Sam starts muttering, as Charlie tries to hoist him up.

"I'm pretty sure he means the one in the basketball kit, wiseass." She points out, as Sam sends her a sheepish look.

He puts on a rather unconvincing cough, "you know, I think I'm getting sick too, maybe I just shouldn't play... I'm sure they have some other re –" the coach blows his whistle, and before gesturing directly at Sam to get down there.

"Maybe not then," Sam grimaces. He finally gets out of his seat, and starts a slow jog down the steps, and onto the gym floor. Pulling off his hoody, he throws it aside. I mean, what's the worse that could happen...?

 ** _Thirty one minutes later._**

Holding the ice pack to his wrist, Sam makes his way back up to Charlie, now that the game has finished. "We won!" He thinks about high-fiving her, but then realises that it won't work, but then Charlie kind of launches herself at him and into a hug anyway.

"Ew, you're sweaty." She scrunches up her nose, after pulling away from him. She sees that he's clenching his jaw, and then realises she must've squished his wrist. "Shit, sorry." Sam shrugs it off, pretending it's fine – something he's very good at.

"Hey, I guess being a tall beanstalk does have its perks after all!" Dean wanders over, and gives his little brother a slap on the back. Cas is shortly behind him, eating some cotton candy.

He offers Sam a piece, before congratulating him also. Sam declines his offer, and then turns to Charlie who's now asking him to hang out. "I can't, I gotta go back to the opticians." Sam grumbles – a few weeks ago Bobby had received a letter of concern about their eyesight , which came home from school... This was one of Headmaster-to-be-Crowley's requests, just before he arrived in America. He then sent Sam and Dean off to the opticians, where in fact they were both tested and fitted with a pair of specs each.

Naturally, Dean isn't ever going to wear them, and Sam doesn't exactly want to look like even more of a nerd than he's been stereotyped to be already.

" _Aww_ , you're both gonna look totally adorable!" Charlie coos slightly patronisingly towards them both, to which Dean gives her a look. Biting on her bottom lip, she tries to hide her smile... But, proceeds to fail miserably.

She then looks back to make sure that Kevin is still standing nearby, before turning back around to face Sam and Dean again. "See you tomorrow then, bitches!" She sends them a salute, before turning on the heels of her Converse, and walking away.


	4. Chapter 4 Charlie's Crush

**_Monday morning._**

As Matty pushes the door handle to homeroom down, she can just about make out the figure of Charlie through the glass. As the door closes behind her, she glances over to the sofa in the middle of the room – Charlie is propped up on the arm, trying to shine a positive light on Sam's current situation, as he lies down on the same sofa.

"I'm never exercising again," he groans. "I'm also not wearing _those_ , so put them back in my bag!" He spots Charlie trying on his new glasses – square frames, all black.

"Lighten up, it's Monday!" The sarcasm isn't even present in her voice, so either she's amazing at being sarcastic, or she's gone insane.

Taking a seat, Matty frowns as Charlie places a hand to Sam's forehead. "Just checking, calm down!" She exclaims, as Sam swats her hand away, his eyes opening – accompanied by a frown that proceeds to spread across his brow.

"I'm _not_ sick. My muscles hurt because I played an hour of basketball," Sam grumbles in response.

"How's your wrist?" Matty speaks up, and then Sam's persona changes as he realises she's in the room.

"It's fine, thanks. Just bruised, thanks to the douchebag that purposely slammed into me." His eyes roll, and Charlie seems to agree.

This 'douchebag' is the bully of grade eleven, and pretty much the whole school – James Raphael. He had indeed purposely slammed into Sam, despite the fact that they were on the same team on Sunday, he simply claimed that he tripped. Once Sam had fallen to the ground, and Raphael (as he's more commonly known as amongst his peers) kicked his wrist, he just claimed that it happened due to the landing from his fall.

"I can't believe he didn't get sent off," Charlie sighs, jumping a little as the school bell rings to indicate that there's five minutes until first period is going to start.

Students slowly start to filter out of the homeroom, and head to their first lesson. For Sam, Charlie and Matty, that lesson is Biology.

Sam and Charlie take their seats a few desks apart, near the front – meaning that they can't chat as much anymore – and Matty sits next to her partner, called Madds. Thankfully the seating plans vary quite a lot, so she doesn't have to sit next to Rebekah all of the time.

They're working from textbooks today, as their teacher is doing some marking of their papers from last week, so the atmosphere in the classroom is fairly relaxed. Charlie looks over to Sam, who's leaning his arm on the desk, with his head resting sideways on it. Slowly scrawling into his textbook, he yawns, and Charlie squints her eyes at him – she worries about her friends, a lot.

Deciding that Sam probably isn't up for a chat right now, Charlie wanders over to Matty's desk, which is nearer the back of the class. "Hey," she leans against the desk, avoiding eye contact with Matty's desk partner.

"If you need a pencil again, you already owe me three back." Matty raises an eyebrow, as she looks up from her work.

Charlie chuckles, about to come up with a witty response, but she's temporarily held up. "Yeah, you kinda owe me one too." Madds joins in, and Charlie feels her cheeks heating up.

"I – I, uh... I'll get you a pencil!" She laughs nervously, and then turns around to hurry back to her desk. Smooth.

Tripping over her own feet as she passes Sam's desk, she feels someone's hand gently grab her wrist. "What?!" She hisses, seeing that it's Sam who's dragged her backwards.

"Stop getting so flustered over your crush, just ask her out already!" He keeps his voice lowered, and Charlie scoffs just a little too loudly in response.

Folding her arms in front of her chest, she takes a few deep breaths. "You know it's not that easy." She snaps quickly, and then tries to walk away again.

Sam's quick reflexes manage to stop her again, as this time he holds onto her blazer. "Anyone would be lucky to have you," he looks all serious, and Charlie can't act mad at him any longer.

"I'll maybe ask her another time," she mumbles quietly, and then Sam finally lets her go.

Come lunchtime, Matty has finally realised why Charlie always wants to borrow pencils and pens from her in biology. Also, Kevin and Sam are trying to convince Charlie that she's good enough for Madds Simmons.

"Dean called her hot! Anyone who's on Dean's radar is way below my freakin' league!" Charlie raises her voice over both of the boys', before angrily stabbing her fork into a single piece of pasta.

"You won't know until you ask," Matty offers, but Charlie sighs again.

"I've only ever heard one rumour of her swinging my way anyway," her hands prop up her chin, as she stares ahead of her. Sam nudges Kevin to say something, but Kevin just nudges him back and mouths something inaudible.

Thinking of something to change the subject to, Matty doesn't have to, as Sam clears his throat. "Will you cheer up if I wear my glasses for last period?" He turns to Charlie, who is now trying to hide a smile.

"Maybe a little, now that you mention it." She puts on a sweet smile, and then bats her eyelashes. Watching Sam pull the case out from his satchel, and then place the eyewear upon his face, she finally smiles again.

Clapping her hands with a giggle, she exclaims "you look _so_ cute!"

"I was going for masculine, but..." Sam remarks jokingly, poking the spectacles up his nose. Kevin tries to pat him on the head, and Matty chuckles quietly at the fact that he has to physically stand up to do this.

Thankfully, for the rest of lunchtime Charlie's smile is back on her face. It's weird seeing her without it – especially for Matty, who's only known the girl for one week, and she hasn't seen her sad for one minute of it.


	5. Chapter 5 Stubbornness

Matty continues to settle into her new school, and home. Tuesday goes by fairly quickly, the day washes away with the rain that falls down from the sky. Charlie continues to pester Sam, as she watches him shuffle around in his seat from discomfort each class – still claiming he's recovering from getting hurt in basketball.

 _Will_ _Wednesday_ _be_ _any_ _different...?_

 ** _Wednesday_** **_morning._**

 _"Sammy?!"_ Dean's whisper-yelling echoes around his and Sam's bedroom. Sam doesn't stir in his bed, and Dean shoots yet another glance at the clock on Sam's bedside table.

He gently shakes his younger brother's shoulder again, but Sam barely stirs. "Whatever," Dean shrugs. Bobby is away for the week – for work – so, Dean hurries away to find some paper, in order to write his brother a note.

 ** _'Sammy,_**

 ** _You_** **_won't_** **_wake_** _**up**_ , **_because_** **_you're_** **_lazy_**. **_I'm_** **_gonna_** **_tell_** **_you're_** _**teachers**_ **_that_** **_you're_ _sick,_** **_and_** **_staying_** **_home_**.

 ** _Dean :)_**

( ** _You're_** **_welcome!)'_**

Placing the note next to the clock, he quietly closes the door, so as not to disturb Sam.

 ** _1_**. ** _5_** **_hours_** **_later._**

Groaning a little, Sam rolls over in his bed. As he squints his eyes open a little, he notices that the sun is shining through the window a little too brightly for it to be six am... He reaches out to grab his clock, and then sees that the time reads 9:31a.m.

 _"Fuck!"_ Sam curses – his voice hoarse, from the prolonged sleep. He jumps out of bed, and runs towards the bathroom as if it's the end of the world. He barely ever misses school, and isn't about to start today.

Showering quicker than he's done in a long time, he then scruffily dresses himself in his uniform. Grabbing a hoodie due to feeling rather cold, Sam makes sure that the front door is locked, and then he begins to run towards school.

He manages to arrive at 10:12a.m. Leaning against a pillar to catch his breath for a few seconds, Sam then opens the doors to his school, and silently prays that no harsh teachers will catch him for being late. Heading to his second period – chemistry – Sam turns down a few hallways, rubbing his tired eyes. Suddenly, he stops dead in his tracks, as he heads a feminine humming, coming from the next corridor that he needed to turn down.

Sam waits for a few seconds, and then once it's gone quiet again, he takes himself around the corner. And, that's his first mistake. "Hello there!" The redhead speaks in her strong Scottish accent. She must've heard Sam coming, and waited for him to appear.

Sam stands there for a few moments, not exactly sure what to do. "Uh, I was just heading to second period." He explains, stuffing his hands deeper inside his hoody pockets. His hands entwine nervously around each other, as he looks anywhere but Ms. Rowena's eyes.

Her eyes however, are travelling from Sam's face, down to his hoody, and then down to his jeans. Which are not part of the uniform. "What's your name, young man?" She asks – her voice sending patronising shivers down Sam's spine... Or, maybe he's just cold.

"I'm Sam, uh Sa –" he's suddenly interrupted, as he has to turn away to sneeze. "Sam Winchester," he blinks sleepily, turning back to face her again.

"Well, Mr. Winchester, I think you'd better head yourself along to detention, and collect a uniform pass. I'll let your next teacher know that you'll be late-er." She smiles 'sweetly', awaiting Sam to inform her who his teacher is. He mumbles the name of who teaches him chemistry, and then as she walks off, he watches her dress sweep along the floor.

Sam turns around and heads in the opposite direction to his classroom. Trudging all of the way to the graffitied door, he opens the handle half-heartedly. He closes the door behind him, and then walks up to the desk at the front. "Welcome to detention, please state your crime." The voice monotones, still looking down at her papers in front of her.

"I need a ' _uniform_ _pass_ ', whatever that even is." The woman's head snaps upwards, as soon as she pinpoints the voice that is talking back at her.

" _Sam?_ " I mean, sure, she sees a lot of his brother... But, Sam Winchester, in the detention room?!

"Hi, Jody." He rolls his eyes slightly. The only reason the pair are on first name basis, is because of the amount of times Sam's first grade (and upwards) self had to stay behind with Dean for his after school detentions, because Bobby wasn't home, and he didn't want Sam walking back alone either.

She looks at his jeans and hoody, and then tuts slightly. "This uniform thing, huh?" Reaching into a drawer, she pulls out a piece of card, and then scrawls something on it. Sam shrugs in response, taking the paper from her.

"Thanks," he sends her a half smile, before making his way out of the room.

As he arrives inside the chem' lab, Sam frowns slightly. It seems everyone is sitting out of seating plan today. He places the uniform pass onto his teacher's desk, and apologises for being late. "Take a seat next to Charlie," they instruct, handing him back the pass. Sam nods in understanding, and then plonks himself down next to his red headed friend, with a sigh.

She's busy writing notes, but had already seen Sam enter the classroom. "I didn't even think you were coming in, but basically we're in partners for another project, and I had to pick a name out of a hat... I mean, I was kinda hoping for Madds, you know, but I can't believe Matty got her name! What are the odds, right? Anyway, I'm glad I got you.. How come you're late anyways, you're usually ne –" Charlie finally places her pen down onto her paper, and looks up at her friend.

"You look like crap, Sam, are you alright?" An expression of concern washes over her face, as she takes in Sam's facial features.

"I'm fine, I just couldn't sleep last night, so I woke up late 'cause Dean couldn't wake me. Chill," he brushes it off as if it's nothing, but Charlie doesn't look too convinced. She frowns at him, before sliding her workbook over to his side of the desk.

"This is what we gotta do, it's mostly written work." She watches as he scans his eyes over it – pulling his glasses out of the pocket in his jeans. He had forgotten his bag, due to the mad rush from this morning.

For the rest of the lesson the class had to just discuss what they were going to do for their project – which was due in for two weeks time. Even when Matty spotted that Sam was late, she asked him if he was okay. But, Sam doesn't exactly favour to being fussed over – so once again, he dismissed their concerns.

 ** _Lunchtime._**

Charlie is currently pestering Matty about everything Madds related. She's promised to try and find out more things about her for Charlie, so that eventually Charlie can maybe pluck up the courage to ask her to hang out... To start with.

Sam's sitting at the edge of the table, his hand propping up his face. His eyes slowly begin to close, but he'll jog himself awake every so often with a cough, or a sneeze. Most people at the table are too deep in conversation to notice him at the moment, but Sam almost jumps out of his skin as someone comes up behind him, and says 'bless you,' directly into his ear.

"Dean, what the hell?!" Sam spins around to see his brother standing there, with thay signature smug smile painted upon his face.

"You should've stayed home, Sammy." Dean scolds him, taking a seat between him and Charlie. She turns her attention towards the elder brother, and then looks towards Sam.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired." Sam snaps, turning away from everyone.

"You're never this grumpy! I knew it," Charlie exclaims, and Dean nods in agreement.

"He snored, like, all of last night as well – another tell tale sign." Shaking his head, Dean pokes Sam's flushed cheek, where his dimple usually is when he's smiling.

Sam bats his hand away, but doesn't turn around. Chuckling to himself, Dean ruffles Sam's hair as he stands up from the bench. "I gotta help Cas study, see y'all later. Charlie, make sure he stays hydrated!" Dean fist bumps the girl, before jogging off into the direction of the library.

"Aren't you glad that we have math together last? Oh, and guess what... We have a sub! Mr Dawson got sick," Charlie sounds excited to tell Sam the last bit of news – they have double maths this Monday, but today Sam missed the first hour of the lesson.

Ignoring Charlie – something he'd usually never even _think_ of doing – Sam gets up from his seat, in order to throw his empty water bottle out into the trash.

Charlie and Kevin hang slightly behind Sam on their way to math, not wanting to agitate him any more than he already is acting. As someone brushes up against Charlie in the corridor, she jumps slightly when she turns to see the brunette curls bouncing along... On none other than Madd's shoulders. "Is Sam alright?" She casually asks, before spinning on her heels to throw her bubblegum into the nearest trash bin, before their sub arrived.

Charlie shrugs, ignoring the blush creeping up her neck, and onto her usually pale cheeks. "I think he's coming down with something, I guess." She answers, managing not to stutter this time. Madds smiles, and then nods. "I hope he feels better!" As their sub unlocks the classroom door, and the girl in front of Charlie enters the classroom before her, she turns to Kevin with a lovesick look written across her face.

"You're ridiculous," he laughs. Placing a hand onto Charlie's shoulder, he leads her inside the classroom. They take their seats, to see Sam already sitting there with his things laid out on his desk before him.

She nudges Kevin with her elbow, wanting him to say something first. Charlie dramatically rolls her eyes, as he vigorously shakes his head. " _Shush!_ " She hisses, before Kevin can argue with her. They begin to hit each other – their hands out in front of themselves, like little kids who don't know how to fight properly.

"You're such children," Sam's voice interrupt them both mid-attack mode. He hasn't turned around to face them, but he knows exactly what they're doing. Next to Sam, the student has already handed everyone a workbook. It seems the typical substitute teacher work is being laid out for them, as usual.

He calls the register, and then everyone gets to work. Sam usually turns his chair around to face his two friends, but today they can only see his back. Well, they can also see his frustration as he sneezes, and has to poke his glasses up his nose... Only to have to do the same thing again just ten seconds later. Eventually, he gives up and with an annoyed sigh, throws them into the table, and resorts to resting his head into his arms, on the desk.

About fifteen minutes into the lesson, and Charlie looks up to see that his head is still in the same resting place, in his arms. "Shall I poke him?" She raises an eyebrow, due to genuinely needing help with a question.

Kevin responds with the cutthroat motion, using his finger as the pretend knife. Charlie rolls her eyes at him – having lost count on how many times she has had to do this to Mr. Tran today – and, then she gently rocks Sam's chair with her foot.

"I, uh.. I think he fell asleep." Em mentions to Sam – the girl who sits next to him in this lesson. Charlie thanks her, and then sits in thought for a few moments.

She pushes her chair away from her desk, looking behind her to make sure that their sub is still busy at the back of the classroom. Shaking Sam carefully by the shoulders, she quietly calls his name. He comes to looking confused, and he's about to experience a lot more of this emotion.

"Sir! I really need to go to the nurse, could Sam take me?" Charlie clutches at her stomach, getting the attention of their teacher fairly quickly, to say the least.

He looks at her with a frown, but then someone else calls out too. "She's clearly having girl problems, can't you see that?!" Madds' voice sounds fake-angry, but it's rather convincing. The teacher begins to stutter, and then he finally chokes out an answer.

"Alright, m-make it quick!" Charlie smiles so widely towards Madds, she's afraid that it might look creepy. She then grabs Sam's arm, and pulls him out of his seat – not letting go until they're out of the classroom, and a good few metres away from the door.

Sam stares at her, the sleepy look in his eyes not having disappeared as of yet. "What're you doing?" He questions, as Charlie stands in front of him, with a hand upon her hip.

"Taking you to the nurse, something I should've done as soon as you stepped foot in chemistry class!" She huffs, reaching out for his hand before he can even think about making a run for it.

She ends up pulling him all the way to the blue door, and she drags him through the waiting room and right up to the second door, which is the nurse's room. Knocking once, Nurse Ellen answers almost immediately. "May I be of any medical assistance?" Her smile greets them warmly, as Charlie goes to step behind Sam, and then pushes him inside.

"I think he's caught whatever started going around the basketball team." Charlie concludes, as she closes the door behind her.

Ellen gestures for Sam to take a seat on the bed against the wall, which he reluctantly does. His legs almost reach the floor, but there's still just about enough room for them to dangle over the edge, and swing back and forth below him. Charlie sits on the spare chair by the door, whilst Ellen starts to get everything ready to take Sam's obs.

She brings the thermometer up to Sam's face, and he hesitantly parts his lips. Placing it in-between them, she then starts to take Sam's blood pressure. "How've you been feeling?" The question she asks him causes Charlie to scoff, knowing only too well what his answer will be.

"Alright," he mumbles – unable to speak properly due to having his temperature measured right now. Ellen mumbles an inaudible reply, and then looks down at the blood pressure monitor.

"Well, that's fine." She observes, placing it back where it had come from. The room is then silent for a little while, minus a few sniffles that come from Sam. A few seconds later, and she takes the thermometer away from Sam's mouth.

Her eyes widen just a little, before she reveals Sam's fate. "This... Not so fine," a few tuts emit from her voice box, and Sam moves a few inches backwards. He has a sheepish look on his face, before he brings up his hand to his face, in order to rub his reddening nose.

"It's not quite fever temperature, but you're not well, Sam. 101, and it'll most likely rise. I recommend you go home now, and get some rest – so, I'll write you a note for Charlie to take back now, if she wouldn't mind getting your things for you." Sam opens his mouth to protest, but Charlie is already holding her hand out at the ready.

"But, I literally have, like, two tests tomorrow!" He argues, his eyes looking sad as Charlie tears out of the door beside them. Ellen sighs, washing her hands.

"Your health comes first, Winchester... And, take that hoody off as soon as you're home," her expression and stance are both stern, but her eyes look kind. He nods slowly, and then she finally smiles again.

Once Charlie comes back, she hands him his things, and laughs as she tells him that their sub must officially think she's insane. "Get better, I'll bring your homework over on Friday." She suddenly engulfs him into a hug, which he returns a few seconds later.

"I'll be fine tomorrow, it's just a cold." Charlie laughs at his stubbornness, and then she pulls away from the hug.

"Alright, Stubborn-chester!" She giggles at the nickname, and even Sam smiles a little. Ellen tells something to Charlie before they leave, and Sam quietly thanks her. Walking Sam towards the entrance, the pair stop just before they reach the doors.

"Do not even _think_ about saying it." She warns him, as Sam tries not to smile.

"Saying what?" He tries to look serious, but his dimple is on show, and a playful smirk dances over his mouth. Charlie playfully punches his shoulder, before dismissing what he might say.

"I'll see you at school when you're better, and I'll see you on Friday to bring your homework. _Okay?_ " Charlie doesn't move until Sam agrees, and then she hugs him once more. He sends her a wave, before turning on his heels, and heading out of the door. Ready to walk home alone, half an hour early.


	6. Chapter 6 Tomato Rice Soup

Dean swings the door open to the small – but, homely – Singer resident. His eyes scan the place, looking for any sign of his younger brother. "Sammy? You better not be asleep somewhere, otherwise you know that you won't get any sleep tonight!" He yells, slamming the door behind him.

"Could ya keep it down a little?" A quiet, muffled voice sounds from somewhere in the living room. Dean's eyes dart to where the source of the sound had appeared, which is when he spots a pile of blankets on the sofa, with a few tufts of Sam's hair poking out of the top.

Smirking a little, Dean tiptoes quietly towards the sofa, where his brother is curled up. He reaches his hands towards the blanket, but is taken aback when Sam suddenly jumps up at him. "Don't test me, I'm not in the mood." He glares daggers at his brother. Sam's hair is already a disheveled mess upon his head, and he looks like a tired toddler.

"Alright, alright... _Sorry!_ " Dean's hands are thrown up in defence, as he takes a few steps back from Sam. Heading out of the living room, he throws his school bag and jacket into the corner.

A few moments later, and a few crashes and clangs can be heard coming from the kitchen. "If you break anything else again, Bobby will kill you!" Sam tries to shout, but starts to cough mid-sentence.

"Shut up, Sammy!" Dean sarcastically calls back, causing Sam to roll his eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, and Dean returns into the living room, holding a tray. Sam's head dodges past Dean's body, in order to carry on watching the TV. "You're welcome... I'm gonna go shower, come get me if you're dying." He mumbles, placing the tray onto the coffee table before he leaves the room.

Sam glances his eyes down at what's on the tray – tomato and rice soup. "Just what Mom used to make," he mumbles to himself, a small smile lying upon his face.

 ** _Later that night._**

"Dean, go to bed. I'm _fine,_ " Sam looks at his watch once again, and it reads eleven pm.

"In a minute," Dean wanders over to his brother, placing the thermometer in his mouth again. Sam gave up on arguing about this ritual about two hours ago, since it was obvious that Dean wasn't going to back down.

Once the reading has shown up, Dean takes the thermometer out. "I haven't lost the capability of my fine motor skills, you know," Sam mumbles grumpily.

"Well, the aspirin is certainly working." Dean comments – about three hours ago Sam's fever spiked, and Dean had noticed straight away.

Bidding his little brother goodnight, the elder Winchester heads upstairs. Sam stays watching movies, as it's unlikely he'll be able to get comfortable enough to go to sleep just yet. He decides to check his phone – another message from Charlie, asking how he's feeling. Sam chuckles to himself, and then types a reply.

It isn't long until his eyes finally start to close, and he finds himself drifting into a light sleep...

"Mom? _MOM!_ " Dean stirs in his bed, trying to ignore the sound coming from downstairs. Another yell enters his dream, and this one actually snaps him out of his slumber.

"Sammy?" Dean frowns, wondering where the source of the sound is coming from. As he hears another frightened call, he fully wakes himself up, and jumps out of bed. Bounding down the stairs, he hurries into the living room to see Sam writhing around on the sofa.

He runs to his side, and begins to gently shake Sam's shoulders. "Sam, it's just a nightmare, wake u –" Sam suddenly bolts upright, causing Dean to stumble backwards and bump into the coffee table.

 _"Fuck,"_ he hisses in pain, not noticing Sam's eyes blinking slowly. Sam uses the blanket to rub his eyes, and then he grabs his hoody to pull over his bare top half. He hasn't seen that his brother is standing right in front of him, so doesn't try to hide his discomfort just yet.

"You feeling cold again?" Dean speaks up, making Sam flinch in surprise. He looks up at his brother, and frowns.

"What're you doing on top of the coffee table?" Sam yawns, rubbing his head.

Dean begins to sarcastically mimic his brother, before realising that he had just perfectly avoided yet another question about his health. "Take some more aspirin, and then get to bed." Dean advises, before patting his brother on the shoulder.

Stumbling into the kitchen, Sam listens as his brother's footsteps fade away up the stairs. Continuing to shiver, he takes the pills, and then heads towards his own bed. Sam knows that he shouldn't be wearing his hoody, no matter how cold he feels, so he reluctantly takes it off again – not wanting Dean to bother him any longer.

 ** _Friday morning, in homeroom._**

"Char! Did you just talk to who I think you were talking to?!" Dean gestures for her to come over and sit, which she does.

"Since Sam's not here, she offered to help me out today in Chem, with her and Matty!" Charlie squeals, returning Dean's high five that he's awaiting.

"I knew you could do it," he smiles, holding onto her hand for a few seconds after the high five has taken place.

The grin on Charlie's face stays for a while, and then she talks again. "How's Sammy Boy?" Her brow furrows from slight worry. Dean lets go of her hand, and then leans back in his chair.

"He tried arguing with me about coming to school this morning," Dean's eyes roll in sync with the redhead sitting opposite him.

"You're kidding!"

 _"Nope."_ Dean's eyebrows rise and fall, and Charlie sighs – blowing her fringe out of her face.

"Tell him I'll bring his homework over tomorrow," she informs the elder Winchester, who nods in response. Before the can continue their conversation any further, the bell rings – to indicate the start of first period.

Standing up from their chairs, a playful smirk appears on Dean's face. "Have fun with your girlfriend!" He teases, causing the girl to blush – apparently she blushes real easy, well, when it comes to a certain person, anyway.

"She's not my girlfriend... _Yet,_ " Charlie's face lights up into another adorable smile, as Dean holds the door to homeroom open for her. She thanks him politely, and then the pair of students both head to their first lesson of the day.


	7. Chapter 7 Movie Night and Comfort Candy

"Sam, hurry up.. I need to brush my teeth!" Dean bangs his fist against the bathroom door yet again. Finally, the door opens, and a cloud of steam engulfs the corridor outside.

Dean coughs a few times, before speaking. "What the hell were you doing in there?!" He waves his arms around, to try and clear the steam a little.

"Trying to breath," Sam monotones back at him – he can't even hide the sickness in his voice anymore, which makes it hard for Dean not to laugh everytime that he talks.

Moving past Sam, he makes his way into the bathroom, whereas Sam heads downstairs to watch more TV. He pulls the blanket that was still there from a few hours ago, over his bare torso. "I told you to stop doing that!" Dean suddenly appears as if from nowhere, his toothbrush hanging from his mouth as he speaks.

"Piss off," Sam remarks simply, pulling the blanket all the way over his head, so that he can't see Dean any longer.

 _"Touchy touchy!"_ Comes Dean's sing-song sarcasm, before he walks back upstairs and into the bathroom once again. He soon reemerge in the living room – wearing the leather jacket that's already got him into so much trouble the past few weeks.

Staring at the tv in front of him, Sam slowly uses the remote to flick through some channels. "Don't forget to remind Charlie about my homework," he tells Dean, who mocks fresh words, with his back turned.

Proceeding to ignore his brother, Dean pulls on his black timberlands – surprisingly, no teacher has noticed these yet. He twirls the key around on his right index finger, making his way towards the front door. Unlocking it, he glances at the weather outside – rain.

"Dean, I mean it! Make sure she brings a notepad too, so we can make no – tes for our chemistry pro – ject!" Sam attempts to continue talking inbetween sneezes, but Dean still ignores him.

"Bless you... _Bye!_ " He calls out (proving that he _did_ in fact hear him after all), and then pulls the door shut behind him.

 ** _4.43p.m._**

"Are you _sure_ she said four o'clock?" Sam questions his brother, after taking a sip of his drink through a straw. Dean mumbles something incoherent back, waving his hand at Sam.

When Dean is watching a movie, he really doesn't like to be disturbed. So, Sam heads upstairs to go and retrieve his glasses, ready for some more note taking. Yes, he had been preparing for the project for a lot of today, although he did fall asleep at the table twice.

As soon as he steps foot inside his bedroom, a timid knock at the door catches his attention – it's barely even audible over the soundtrack from Dean's movie. "Dean!" Sam tries to shout, but his voice fails him.

"Sammy, the door! I'm pretty sure that we both know that this movie ain't gonna watch itself, now, is it?" Dean shouts way louder than Sam can even muster, and he rolls his eyes in response. Shoving his glasses onto his face, he jogs back down the stairs and towards the door.

Pulling the door open, Sam is surprised to see an unhappy looking Charlie – although it's obvious she's wearing a fake smile. "You okay?" He asks, then realising that all he's wearing is underwear and sweatpants... Not that him and Charlie aren't close, though. I mean they have been friends since grade two.

"I'm fine, how're you? Feeling better? I mean that's kind of a stupid question, I guess. But, it's rude not to ask it back, you know?" Her voice shakes, as she starts to nervously ramble on, whilst walking, quickly past Sam. She avoids eye contact with him, and then places his homework on the table.

"Can't stay, see you on Monday!" She blurts out, trying to make a beeline for the open door, whilst Sam is still standing there looking confused.

Dean looks up from his movie, and catches a glimpse of Charlie's reddened face, and eyes. "How bad?" He simply asks, standing up from the sofa. Charlie and her step-mom often get into fights, and Sam and Dean are always there to comfort her.

Charlie stays silent for a moment, with her eyes fixated on the now closed front door. She was so close to escaping out of it. "Kinda bad," she finally mutters, now resorting to staring at her worn out sneakers.

Dean sighs quietly, and then wraps his arms around her small figure. "Please don't, you're gonna make me cry again." She squeaks, trying to wriggle out of his strong, but kind grip.

He lets her go, and then goes over to turn off the tv. "You wanna talk, or just watch a movie for a while?" Dean offers, gesturing to the sofa, where he was just sitting.

"I don't have any stuff with me, I don't even wanna intrude! I - I'll just go," she rubs her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket, and edges slowly towards the door again.

"I still have my emergency Charlie sleepover kit – referring to the spare toothbrush, set of clothes from Dean that are about three sizes too big, and some bedding – so, don't even think of opening that door right now!" Dean warns her in a serious tone, but Charlie laughs quietly.

She continues to laugh for a little longer, and then she looks up at him with a weak smile on her face. "That sounds so gay," she snorts. Dean starts to laugh with her, and then she finally gives in, and takes a seat next to him.

"What're we watching?" Dean questions, before deciding to go and retrieve copious amounts of emergency comfort candy, from one of the kitchen cupboards. Charlie ponders for a few seconds, and then asks if he wants to finish his own movie that he was just watching.

Dean shakes his head, throwing a few skittles into his mouth. "Rom-com, horror?" He reels off a couple of choices, looking to where Sam is now coming down the stairs in his basketball vest – since it's the only sleeveless top that he owns.

"Star Wars?" She bites her bottom lip, hoping that he'll agree. Dean silently agrees, removing his arm from where it had been placed loosely over her shoulders. He hands her the candy, and then goes to find the correct movie for them.

Charlie looks over at Sam, who's awkwardly standing there, whilst sipping his mug of blackcurrant juice. "You coming, Sammy?" She smirks, – herself and Dean are the only people in the world who he can tolerate receiving that nickname from.

"I'll just, uh, sit over here." He smiles, and Charlie huffs.

"Sam, I take full responsibility if I get sick... Now, get your butt over here, right now!" She demands, and Sam almost chokes on his mouthful of drink at her menacing tone. As soon as he reluctantly starts to walk over though, her face softens, as she smiles at her success.

He takes a seat at the far end of the sofa, and then she shuffles up so that Dean can sit to her right. The movie titles appear on the screen, and Charlie rests her head on Dean's shoulder. "Thank you," she whispers, and Dean's small nod back lets her know that he heard.

 ** _2 hours later._**

The movie is almost over, and Sam can barely keep his eyes open. Dean looks over to where Sam is dropping off to sleep, and then to Charlie... Who fell asleep against his shoulder, approximately half an hour ago. "Well," he mumbles, carefully stretching out his hand to get the remote.

He switches off the tv, leaving the room now only dimly lit by the lamp in the corner. "Sammy, get to sleep," he whispers, and Sam sits up.

"I'll go make my bed for Charlie," he replies, and Dean rolls his eyes. They had already endured this argument halfway through the film – Charlie said she'd take the couch, because Sam's sick, but he offered to remake his bed for her. Then they did Rock Paper Scissors, and Sam won... But, Charlie made a really sad face and kept on poking Sam's dimple and booping his nose until he finally cracked.

"No you won't!" Dean whisper-shouts back at him. As Sam attempts at standing up, Dean quickly, but carefully, removes Charlie from leaning against his shoulder.

"What're you gonna do, fight me?" Sam gives him the most sarcastic look, and Dean scoffs.

"Maybe I am!" His voice is heightened to its usual volume, as he steps a little closer to Sam.

 _"Fine!"_ Sam snaps, standing up so that he's towering just a few inches taller than Dean.

The elder Winchester really does miss the days when he was the tallest one, because now it makes winning arguments (and fights) just that much harder. The pair stand there for a moment, not breaking eye contact, well, that is until... _"Fuck!"_ Sam curses a little too loudly, after falling down onto the couch due to a sneeze.

Dean, of course, finds this rather funny. Sam kicks him in the shin, which sends an unsuspecting Dean stumbling backwards and into the coffee table. He then proceeds to lose his balance, and eventually land flat on his back. "Children, behave, the both of you! Or you're grounded," Charlie's sleepy voice murmurs, as she sits up and rubs at her eyes.

"Shit, we didn't mean to wake you." Sam lowers his tone yet again, feeling bad about waking her up.

 _"We?!"_ Dean is now standing up and brushing himself down, whilst scoffing at his brother's false statement.

Sam then begins to offer his own bed to Charlie again, to which she lies back down and sighs loudly at. "Just get to bed, Rudolph!"

"Did you just call me... _'Rudolph'_?" Sam's brow furrows, and Dean starts laughing again.

"Um... _No?_ " Her eyebrows raise, and Sam just shakes his head. He decides that he might as well head up to bed, since he's too tired to argue any longer. Meanwhile, Dean heads off to fetch Charlie some spare clothes, and a toothbrush.

He bids Charlie goodnight, kissing the top of her head and telling her that if she needs to talk, that he's here. Charlie thanks him, and then climbs into her little makeshift bed. She closes her eyes, quietly chuckling to herself about the past few hours she's spent with her closest friends...

... Her _family._


	8. Chapter 8 Nightmares

_**4.17.a.m.**_

Charlie gasps, jumping awake. She takes a few moments to process her surroundings – right, she's staying at Sam and Dean's. Rubbing her eyes, she stretches before kicking off her blankets. Her feet feel the carpet underneath, whilst she makes her way into the kitchen.

She fills up a glass full of water, and takes a few sips. Letting the cool water run down her throat, her back leans against the counter behind her. A small groan suddenly fills the air that was previously silent. Charlie tenses up, and looks around the pitch black kitchen. She always feels safe in this house, but as there's a small mumbling coming from a few metres away from her, she suddenly feels slightly terrified.

Grabbing the nearest utensil, as a weapon – which actually happens to be a spatula, that Dean had used a few days ago, to make pancakes – she runs in the direction that the voice had come from. As the figure jumps up from the kitchen chair with a surprised yell, and leaps into a fighting stance, Charlie screams loudly. " _SAM!_ What the fuck are you doing in here at like... I don't even know what time it is?!" She squeals, after realising that she's in no danger from being attacked, or mugged.

He relaxes his own posture, once he knows it's only Charlie coming at him with a... _Spatula?_ "What're you doing, trying to fight me with random kitchen utensils?" He asks, clearing his throat slightly.

"I thought you were an intruder, or something," she admits. Taking a few deep breaths, she then speaks again, "sorry."

"It's alright, are you okay?" He questions, squinting to try and study her facial expressions.

Charlie shrugs, shifting her weight. "I had a nightmare," she mumbles. "What about you?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I didn't want to wake anyone... Hence dozing off at the kitchen table." Sam chuckles slightly.

"You wanna come sit?" She offers, beginning to make her way back to her makeshift bed, on the sofa.

He accepts her invitation, taking a seat opposite his friend. "What's on ya mind?" She suddenly comes out with, catching Sam off guard a little.

"I keep having this recurring nightmare, I've been having it for years, actually. I – uh, well, different versions of it," He explains, pausing for breath, "me and Dean are in this car, on a random highway, and we – we, um, drive past a car wreckage. I'm in the passenger seat, so I see the woman shouting for help... Dean doesn't stop, so I start to argue with him, and then he isn't paying attention to the road, so.. I see a truck coming, and I shout his name, but it's too late, and that's when I wake up." Sam blurts out all at once, not realising that he's barely paused to breathe.

When he looks back up again at Charlie, she's staring at him all intently. "Who's the woman?" She whispers, but she probably already knows the answer.

He takes a deep, but shaky breath in before replying, "my mom," Sam's voice wavers, and he bites down hard on his bottom lip.

"Permission to hug?" Charlie interrupts the quiet, whilst Sam's head is hung low – a few sniffles breaking the silence every now and then.

Sam doesn't answer Charlie, so of course she launches herself forwards and wraps her arms around his waist. Burying her head into his neck, Sam awkwardly sits there, his arms trapped by his sides – having not really expected that. "Ow," his voice is muffled by her hair, but she quickly lets go.

"Sorry," she gives him an awkward smile, "you're totally burning up by the way, so go get some aspirin, then I give you permission to come and sit with me, until either one of us falls asleep."

Charlie knows that she, for one, always feels better when there's someone beside her, after she's had a nightmare. Or, she won't fall asleep again for hours.

"Thanks, Charlie." Sam heads off to retrieve his unfinished cup of blackcurrant juice, and Charlie smiles back at him.

 ** _Monday morning._**

Twenty one movies, two large bags of popcorn, too many bags of candy, one and a half packets of aspirin, four cartons of blackcurrant juice, and a lot of tissues later... And, Monday has come around again.

"Son of a bitch!" Echoes throughout the yard, as Dean has come to the realisation that his younger brother left for school early, so that neither Dean nor Charlie could try and stop him.

"He'll be fine," Charlie reassures him, beginning to head down the grassy path, out of Bobby's yard.

Bobby had arrived back early evening last night, and headed straight back out again to get some shopping – since, 'you three idjits seem to have eaten everything!' Then, he made dinner for everyone, minus Sam (who was asleep on the sofa, at the time.)

Meanwhile, Sam is just about to enter the school front doors... Half an hour early. As he turns the first corner to the homeroom, he comes across Mr. Crowley talking to a student. "Please head off to retrieve a uniform pass, young lady." He catches the last part of their conversation, which causes him to turn around and attempt at taking the long way around.

But... "Ahem, you too, young man!" The British accent yells, and it's as if his voice literally follows him around the corner.

Sam freezes on the spot, and mentally curses himself for not acting quicker. He plasters a fake smile onto his face, and walks back to where the female student is tugging off her denim jacket, with a subtle roll of her eyes. Mr. Crowley is wearing a smug smile, which goes rather well with his posh suit. He looks at both of the students, and then walks off.

Now that Sam is closer, he realises that the female student is Riley, whom he knows from around school. The pair of them begin the small trek to the detention room, whilst Riley is ranting about their new headmaster. She glances at Sam's hoody, and laughs a little.

"It's cold, right? Not my fault my blazer is thin, and wouldn't fit under my denim jacket... I mean, people forget things every now and then! It's not like we've had this uniform since grade one." She huffs, starting to rant again. Sam nods in agreement, and then she looks up at him in confusion.

She then stops to open the detention room door. Sam takes the weight away from her arm, as he reaches over her head to hold it open for her. She thanks him, and then steps inside. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" She giggles a little, after thanking him for holding the door.

"Something like that," he attempts at talking, but ends up coughing instead. _Slight_ issue... Sam has lost his voice, as of yesterday evening, to be precise.

Riley walks straight up to the detention desk, and promptly requests a uniform pass for the both of them – having realised that Sam wasn't ignoring her, he literally couldn't answer. Jody hands her two passes, and then with a look of concern, glances over at Sam. He attempts a smile, to which Jody tuts a little, and then smiles back.

"Stay out of trouble, you two!" She calls out, as they exit the room. Sam mouths a 'thank you' to Riley, as she hands him his pass, and then the pair of them make their way to homeroom together.

A whole day with no voice proved to be quite difficult for Sam, as he's now sulking on the sofa, drinking lemon and ginger tea – courtesy of Bobby, and Dean. Of course, his elder brother finds it rather funny, and karma-worthy, that he can't talk... But, as Sam's fever broke yesterday, and apart from his voice he's feeling much better, he finds it a lot easier to fight with Dean again now.

The brothers had offered for Charlie to stay over again, but she said that she was going to try and work things out with her step-mother. So, Dean is keeping his phone close by, just incase.

Sam places his empty mug onto the coffee table, and then reaches for his math book. Time to get started on the miniature mountain of homework that he had gotten last week. Dean jumps onto the sofa next to him, and switches on the TV. The sound of one of his stupid action movies blares out of the speakers, causing Sam to roll his eyes.

"Turn it down!" He whisper-shouts, kicking his brother's feet.

Dean frowns a little, and then looks around him, before turning to face Sam. "I'm sorry, what? I – I can't hear you!" Dean laughs, and Sam folds his arms in frustration.

 _"Jerk,"_ he announces as loudly as his voice can muster.

 _"Bitch,"_ Dean leans back in the sofa, before turning up the volume just a _little_ bit louder.


End file.
